Two years ago today I met with someone who left a permanent mark on my identity. Sadly, that too at a place I do not think I will ever be able to go back to. But who wants to go back when the day is still vivid in your memories so much so that you can be present there anytime you want to.
So here’s what that special day looks like in my memory:
On 29th of July, 2018, I, along with my backpacking group, hiked Mount Sinai to reach the highest peak of Egypt. On our way to the top, we were hosted by a group of local families who offered us delicious curry, traditionally cooked rice and some soup.
Mount Sinai, according to Bible, is the place where Moses got Ten Commandments from God. Every year tourists and religious pilgrims from all over the world visit the mountain and experience its spirituality and peaceful living.
After having my share of food with the welcoming family, I got out of this small open veranda and wandered about the house. The mountains were huge yet of the sort I had never seen in my life. With pitch black peaks and negligible number of trees and of course Egypt’s heat, they were rather daunting yet allusive.
It was evening now and the sun was down and we were to start climbing again once everybody else was finished with food. I took this time to offer Asr prayer. All I wanted at that moment was to experience the holy land and feel connected with my creator with all the spiritual aura of the place.
I went to one of these Bedouin guys who had hosted us and asked for a scarf to cover my head. He gave me his own Keffiyah or the Bedouin Scarf and I offered Asr on this rough mat in a low ceiling dark room which was probably some other Bedouin’s home.
Once I was done I went out and tried penning down my overwhelming experience of praying. While I was writing my journal I saw this woman with light colored eyes and freckled skin who was the first resident woman of the area that I had seen since the morning. I got so excited that I went straight up to her thinking that she would probably not understand English so I took help from a few sign language gestures that I had learned during my time with the Arabs.
To my astonishment this woman spoke fluent English, almost like a native English speaker would do and at that time I was exploding with questions. For starters she was cutting woods when I saw her and she was dressed like a Bedouin wife would.
So I sat with her at the corner of this house that I had just offered my prayer in. We were overlooking the small veranda my fellows and I had just eaten food in. I went on and asked her how she ended up there and where she was from and basically everything that I could possibly think of at that moment. Was she living this life on purpose? Was she married to a Bedouin? How did she manage living with so many males and that too far from city with literally no contact with the outside world?
Well, maybe I had forgotten in my sense of life choices and shaky definitions of contentment that some people simply do not live for the glow of life. Their purpose and peace lies elsewhere and hence drudgery and loneliness do not haunt them.
Such was the case with this beautiful woman named Gabriela. Gabriela told me she was from Austria and had been living in the mountains for 8 years. “I have a husband and a daughter in Greece. My husband sends me little money but it is enough for me.” Gabriela told me.
“I always wanted to lead a simple life. Before this my life was totally different.” She added. This was the first time that I was meeting somebody who had quite a similar fast paced life like mine but had taken a decision to make it different. I wish I had more time with her to ask her about everything from how she made the decision and how her life and thoughts had changed during these eight years but well I was destined to know just a chunk of it.
“Why did you choose Mount Sinai to live in instead of so many other places which might have been close to your family? Don’t you miss them?” I asked her. “You must love nature and love walking. I wanted it.” She answered. Sometimes I think maybe she did not have any answer to my question or she did not want to answer. But these were her exact words.
Gabriela told me she was a practicing Christian and the place she had chosen to live in allowed her to live close to God. “I always wanted to lead a simple life.” She said. “How do you manage to live among so many males as a single woman? Don’t they tease you or something?” I asked her out of pure concern.
“All Bedouins are like brothers and fathers to me. They are all really nice and take care of me.” She answered. Not for a single moment did I doubt her reply. I would maybe if I had not sensed the contentment and purity of her being. I could feel that she meant everything that she reiterated. Not only that but she was happy with the life she had chosen for herself.
“I like how these Arabs they eat together in one place. They respect women so much and never try to do anything with me. They think that it is Haram. It is the safest place for me.” She added. And truly the kind of bond she shared with these men was heart-touching for me.
I saw the small reddish brick structure she lived in. And I was awe stricken at the thought of what she had left behind just to be there and how people could be so committed to their religious faith as to make such bold life choices.
Today when I look back at how I met Gabriela for a very small time but we shared a moment filled with warmth and connection, I just cannot be thankful enough to all those people who became a part of my life even for a short while. A relationship does not have to last forever to be cherished and loved. Small encounters and acquaintances can leave a deep impact on your soul and teach you things which you might never learn on your own.
The way I am reminded of her every time I want to escape the competitive world that I am a part of, is a proof of how much till date I appreciate her wise presence. I am sure she meets quite a lot of tourists and many of them might ask her similar questions as I did. But I wish she touches other people’s lives just as she touched mine.
Ha! If anyone of you ever plans on visiting the highest peak of Egypt on Mount Catherine (which by the way is the best spot one could witness sunrise from, story for another time) and gets a chance to meet this woman on the way, tell her that a part of her would always be in me. And that I am forever thankful to her.
Pursuit Of Knowing 